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Newb looking for reliability

2K views 23 replies 8 participants last post by  rufushusky 
#1 ·
Hey guys first time poster. I just purchased my first diesel pickup for hauling my trailers for my entertainment company. I've been hauling my 7x14 and 7x20 enclosed trailers with my suburban and it wasn't getting the job done as comfortably as I would have liked so I picked up a 99 F250 PSD with 201k on the clock. Runs great, drives great, and is in good condition. Has a K&N filter, and Silverline straight exhaust. Has hypertech programmer sticker on the door, but not sure if it's still on the rig or not. No other mods as far as I can tell, but having never owned a diesel it's hard for me to say. I'm looking for the best mods to do to keep my rig working and reliable for the forseeable future until I can buy a newer rig. Besides changing all my fluids and starting fresh, where should I go from there? Thanks for the input, I look forward to learning more, and customizing my rig.



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#2 ·
Welcome!!! You got a great truck and it will certainly get the job done!!

My best advice is to pull the K&N filter and put a 6637 filter on it. K&N filters disintegrate and will eventually cause harm to your turbo, then your motor.

I would say 5k mile oil changes. But others will argue different.

Generally a tuner will hurt reliability to an extent. If you drive like a jack wagon it'll definitely accelerate issues. Towing heavy on a hot tune can really hurt you trans an motor. So my advice would be to get gauges, then get a good tuner like a PHP Hydra and use the tow tune and watch your gauges. Don't run a tuner without gauges, thats my best advice.

For gauges don't cheap out. ISSPro are the best, I'd go Boost/pyro/trans. And Corey at CNC Fab, who is a site sponsor, sells that kit at a great price, best I found online.

Just drive your truck, enjoy it, beat on it, but don't be an idiot and it won't let you down!

On a side note, has your truck ever had any trans work done? The 4r100 behind the 7.3 is known as a 200k mile trans. But thats an average. some go 400k some only made it to 100k. Just depends on the truck.

This is not a complete list here, just some random thoughts.

Oh BTW, I LOVE me some cab lights.
 
#4 ·
Welcome!!! You got a great truck and it will certainly get the job done!!

My best advice is to pull the K&N filter and put a 6637 filter on it. K&N filters disintegrate and will eventually cause harm to your turbo, then your motor.

I would say 5k mile oil changes. But others will argue different.

Generally a tuner will hurt reliability to an extent. If you drive like a jack wagon it'll definitely accelerate issues. Towing heavy on a hot tune can really hurt you trans an motor. So my advice would be to get gauges, then get a good tuner like a PHP Hydra and use the tow tune and watch your gauges. Don't run a tuner without gauges, thats my best advice.

For gauges don't cheap out. ISSPro are the best, I'd go Boost/pyro/trans. And Corey at CNC Fab, who is a site sponsor, sells that kit at a great price, best I found online.

Just drive your truck, enjoy it, beat on it, but don't be an idiot and it won't let you down!

On a side note, has your truck ever had any trans work done? The 4r100 behind the 7.3 is known as a 200k mile trans. But thats an average. some go oils 400k some only made it to 100k. Just depends on the truck.

This is not a complete list here, just some random thoughts.

Oh BTW, I LOVE me some cab lights.

Thanks for the great info!

The AGGRESSIVE driving is behind me! Unless I'm passing someone I hardly ever stomp on it anymore! I've got some exterior upgrades on the way, looks like gauges are next on the list.

Not sure if the trans has had an work but fluid looks like it could use a change and filter as it is on the darker of red but not black or does it smell burnt.

I love the cab lights too! Got LED bulbs on order for them.

Any recommendations on oil? Looks like Rotella is the most common with a Motorcraft filter.

Thanks again for the help!


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#3 ·
If it's the panel k&n get rid of it.

Check the pcm for a chip.
 
#6 · (Edited)
since you are looking for reliability and longevity....

1) get rid of the K&N, go back to stock

2) if you have an automatic, get rid of the chip, go back to stock

3) Rotella 5w-40 at 5k intervals with the ford FL-1995 filter

4) powerservice (gray/white bottle depending on season) at every fillup (10oz/tank) along with 30oz wally world 2-cycle oil

5) keep up with maintenance

6) if you keep it stock or even with a modest chip you don't really need gauges, just idle it a bit before shutdown if just coming off the highway or towing heavy.
 
#7 · (Edited)
since you are looking for reliability and longevity....

1) get rid of the K&N, go back to stock

2) if you have an automatic, get rid of the chip, go back to stock

3) Rotella 5w-40 at 5k intervals with the ford FL-1995 filter

4) powerservice (gray/white bottle depending on season) at every fillup (10oz/tank) along with 30oz wally world 2-cycle oil

5) keep up with maintenance

6) if you keep it stock or even with a modest chip you don't really need gauges, just idle it a bit before shutdown if just coming off the highway or towing heavy.
Good advice here! Its the FL-1995. Rotella is popular for oil. 5w40 is synthetic 15w40 is dino oil. The nice thing with 15w40 rotella is if a gas station sells diesel, they sell 15w40 rotella. But 5w40 will make for easier cold starts.
 
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#14 ·
The idea with the 2 cycle oil in the fuel is that our motor was not designed for ultra low sulfur diesel that is sold today. When they took the sulfur out they took the lubrication out. So the idea is add the lubrication back with the oil. Their was a study with all the additives and if they work I'll try and find it so you can read it if you want.
Do not flush your trans just drain the pan and change the filter. Flushing it will loosen up all the junk that is settled and staying put. If you loosen it it will cause havoc.
 
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#17 ·
Now that I've got oil and trans down. How about the fuel filter. I believe there is one on top of the motor, is there an inline filter as well? How hard is the filter on the motor to change. Is it something an average car tinkerer can do?


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#23 ·
while you have the fuel filter out I'd recommend doing a seafoam "hot soak" treatment. Drain the fuel bowl and refill with seafoam additive. Install the filter and run the engine for 30-45 seconds. Shut it down and let it soak for a few hours. Then run the engine fairly hard for at least 10 miles.
 
#18 ·
It is easy. The cap unscrews off and the filter is right there. I had some issues with aftermarket filters so I only use Motorcraft now. There is not an inline filter.
 
#19 ·
The fuel filter on top of the engine isn't too hard to change, but getting the cap off can be difficult. I ordered a tool from Amazon... specifically to remove that cap. I think it was about $15 or so. It's been recommended to me to change it every other oil change; and again, from what I can see Amazon has a decent deal on Motorcraft fuel filters for our trucks. It's cheap enough, and why not do that while you are in there waiting for the 15 quarts of oil to get into the crankcase?

I'm definitely in a similar situation as you; I picked up a 2000 F-350 CCSB during the summer. It had 248K on the odo when I got it, and now I'm almost at 251K. Just did my second oil change a couple of weeks ago (first one was right after I got it), and it's running smoother than ever. Getting cold here in Nor-Cal as well though, it was mid 20's this morning and although I plugged in the block heater for an hour or so, it cranked a couple of times more than usual before firing. I'll be getting my timer setup this evening as I usually leave around 4:00am for work...

Clay
 
#20 ·
The fuel filter on top of the engine isn't too hard to change, but getting the cap off can be difficult. I ordered a tool from Amazon... specifically to remove that cap. I think it was about $15 or so. It's been recommended to me to change it every other oil change; and again, from what I can see Amazon has a decent deal on Motorcraft fuel filters for our trucks. It's cheap enough, and why not do that while you are in there waiting for the 15 quarts of oil to get into the crankcase?

Thanks I'll search for that tool!



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#22 ·
I use these to get the cap off the fuel filter. Works great then you also have them for the oil filter if you need it. Two birds with one stone.
 

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#24 ·
A 6.0 trans cooler and clean ATF goes a long way keeping a 4r100 up and running. When I purchased my truck in 2011 I flushed out all the original 9 year old fluid by disconnecting the rear cooler return line and pumping out a gallon at a time. No issues in the subsequent 57k miles.

Check out the onboard cold starting aids (uvch, glow plugs, relays, etc). Always a good idea this time of year.
 
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